


Give Us a Little Love (We Never Had Enough)

by soccersgouenj



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Blood, F/M, Gen, Minor Violence, Tags will be updated as the story progresses!, Witches, witch! au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-25 06:05:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9806501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soccersgouenj/pseuds/soccersgouenj
Summary: Where do we belong, where did we go wrong? If there's nothing here, why are we still here?AKA, everyone is a witch and absolutely nothing could go wrong





	1. When God is Gone and the Devil Takes Hold

**Author's Note:**

> the long awaited witch! au is here! i hope you enjoy and look forward to the rest of this wild ride!  
> (brownie points to anybody who knows what seven's....chant, is a reference to lol)
> 
> fic title from Give Us a Little Love by Fallulah  
> chapter title from O' Death by Amy Van Roekel  
> check out my tumblr for updates and extra content! gayhee.tumblr.com

The click of heels on tile floor seemed to echo throughout an unusually silent house. A petite blonde woman paced the living room, her expression unreadable, save for sharp green eyes that coldly cut into each person on the sofa in front of her. She came to a stop directly in front of the couch, a soft, strained smile on her face.

“Who wants to review the house rules?”

It remained quiet as all five people seated took great interest in the polished floor, refusing eye contact with the blonde.

“Rika, we didn’t mean to…” A blond boy, no older than 16, murmured, his excuse losing steam quickly.

Rika cocked her head at him, eyes narrowing.

“Really? Didn’t mean to what, exactly? Didn’t mean to burn the entire dining room, throw Luciel off the roof, expose the coven to the neighbors, and attempt to summon Lucifer, in the same afternoon?”

Yoosung looked up, facing Rika directly. His violet eyes shone with unshed tears, but Rika remained tense.

“You know it wasn’t like that, we were just messing around…things got out of hand, but nobody meant any harm!” He spoke sincerely, but everyone knew she wouldn’t buy it.

“Yoosung give it up, there’s no point. Yes, ok, I did burn down the dining room, but that was an _accident!_ ” A boy with long silver hair spoke up, red eyes rolling as he spoke. He sat on the edge of the sofa with his legs crossed and arms spread across the back, the picture of apathy. “I can’t exactly control these powers yet, no thanks to you,” the words came out mumbled, and the bite was prominent in his tone.

A thick silence filled the room, settling over them like a fog.

“Zen, I don’t think it is wise to speak to our Priestess like that…” The only other girl of the group spoke, before tucking a strand of short brown hair behind her ear, and gently pushing up her glasses.

Zen scoffed, reaching into his pocket to reveal a carton of cigarettes. Placing one in his mouth, he lit the end with a snap of his fingers.

Inhale, hold, and exhale.

The cigarette sat loosely between his thin fingers as he responded. “Jaehee, no offense, but I haven’t exactly agreed to join this coven yet. She’s not our _Priestess_.” He spat out the word like it was dirty, and a small gasp came from the other end of the couch.

A boy with short red hair and striped yellow and brown glasses brought his hand up to cover his mouth in seemingly sarcastic shock.

“But, Zen, Rika here isn’t just _any_ Priestess, she’s our next _High_ Priestess!” The redhead’s mocking tone came out light and joking, rather than offensive, and the tension dissipated slightly. He opened his mouth to speak again, but a deep, baritone voice cut him off.

“Luciel, if you so much as think about making _another_ joke about a Priestess doing drugs, I _will_ see to it that I sue you for everything you own.”

Luciel threw back his head and laughed, unfazed by the threat. “C’mon Jumin, it’s pretty funny, you gotta admit.”

Jumin scoffed at the remark, continuing to refuse eye contact with anyone. “I don’t have anything to admit, it’s a vulgar and childish joke about something serious.”

“Hey, I don’t know what your deal is, man, but take the stick out of your ass and relax for a bit. Nobody got seriously hurt, it’s fine.” Zen spoke up, voice slightly louder than usual. He could feel himself getting riled up by Jumin’s pompous attitude, and was struggling to control the small bite of his tone.

Jumin rolled his eyes faintly, and stared at his nail beds as if he would rather be anywhere than right there. The lack of response only angered Zen further, and hell break loose.

Zen raised his voice at Jumin, demanding a response. Jumin scoffed, offhandedly replying that he needn’t respond to someone so beneath him. Everything happened at once; Zen lunged across the couch at Jumin, but Jaehee was quick to hold him back. Yoosung fought back tears at the hostility coursing through his and everyone’s veins, and Luciel watched on in crude fascination. Zen screamed and cursed at Jumin, who sat silently, huffing out a sigh that only fueled Zen’s anger. As quickly as the argument had broken out, it suddenly stopped.

All five of them froze, physically unable to speak. Rika raised an eyebrow at them, and crossed her arms.

“Really? Your solution is to create _more_ mayhem? Listen, I want to help you control and develop your powers, you can’t waste them on petty fights. You all have the potential to aid this coven, so do something _productive._ ”

With a flick of her hand, everyone unfroze, gasping for breath.

“God, I hate when she does that…” muttered Yoosung, having been on the receiving end of his cousin’s magic more times than he’d have liked.

Rika faced them with a stern look.

“Let’s try this again. You all are going to walk me through exactly what happened while I was gone, and don’t even _think_ about lying – I’ll know. Got it?”

Everyone nodded, hesitant to break the silence.

Luciel spoke up, starting the retelling of the day’s events.

“So here’s what happened…”

\------------

Rika shuffled around the living room in a rush, attempting to slip on her shoes and attach her earrings while searching for her car keys.

“Everyone, I know Jaehee and Zen just got here, but V and I have to go and meet the Committee to officially register the coven – Jumin, have you see my keys? Anyways, you know the rules, don’t leave the house unless it’s an emergency, and try not to use your powers unless necessary. Yoosung, you’re in charge until we’re back. Ok, be good, get to know each other a bit! We’ll be back late, have fun!”

She hastily pulled V out the front door, and the couple left the five unattended for the first time ever. Luciel let out a whoop, turning to face the others.

“They’re gone, let’s go WILD! We could do anything! We could- we could- I don’t know, break into the liquor cabinet!”

Jumin scoffed, and refocused on the book in his hands. Zen pumped a fist in the air, wholeheartedly agreeing to the idea. “Y’know, now that I think about it, I’ve always wondered if witches have special kinds of liquor – the normal shit never seems to work for me.”

Luciel grinned devilishly, eyes glinting with mischief. “So, you mean to say, you’ve never tried _enchanted whiskey?_ ”

Yoosung made a half-hearted noise of protest. Rika trusted him to make sure nothing went wrong, and he didn’t want to betray that. But Luciel hooked an arm around Yoosung’s neck, and gestured to the liquor cabinet with a grand hand gesture. “Yoosung, my sweet Yoosung, just think – when else are we gonna have a chance to drink without getting our asses whooped? And Rika and V don’t have to know, we’ll keep it a secret, and then nobody will get in trouble. It’s a win-win situation!”

The blond furrowed his brows, trying to work out how exactly everyone won in the situation, but soon gave up and nodded slightly at Seven. “Yeah, that sounds right, I think…what could a few sips hurt, right?”

Jaehee sighed at the trio, and stood up to leave. “I’ll be upstairs, don’t bother me unless it’s an emergency. I don’t want to get roped into whatever punishment you all get for breaking the rules.”

She started up the stairs, and made it to the top step before a voice caught her ear.

“Jaehee, there’s some bottles of antique, exalted wine.” She spun around slowly to lock eyes with Zen, who wore a teasing smirk. He knew she was a sucker for a good wine, and sure enough, she descended the stairs and stood near them, trying to look disinterested.

“Well, I can’t say I’m not curious about the wine…and you all could use someone responsible to make sure everything doesn’t go to total hell.”

With the majority on his side, Luciel pulled some tools out of his pocket, and began to pick the lock on the cabinet. “Y’know, for a cabinet with magical alcohol in a witch coven, this thing is really only manually locked. No spells, enchantments, nothing. It’s like they _want_ us to break in and indulge.” With a soft click, the doors popped open, revealing a plethora of various drinks.

Luciel reached in and started pulling out bottles, handing them off to their proper recipients; an enchanted whiskey for Zen, an exalted wine for Jaehee, a mysterious looking cider for Yoosung, and a few assorted bottles that he set off to the side.

“You guys can crack into these, and I will go grab a special bottle I’ve had my eyes on from an unknown location!” Luciel scurried out of the room, and Zen didn’t hesitate to migrate to the kitchen and rummage through the cabinets for cups. He eventually made a soft “aha!” and took out two cups and a wine glass, all made of heavy shiny glass, encrusted with crystals along the bases.

Yoosung opened the cider and poured a small amount into his cup, bringing it up to his nose to sniff at it tentatively. “I’ve never had alcohol before…first time for everything right?” He carefully sipped his drink, face morphing into a bright smile. “This tastes _just_ like normal apple cider! It’s delicious!” He poured himself a large cup of the liquid and drank in large gulps, oblivious to the possible consequences of his action. Jaehee poured her glass of wine, eyes sparkling as she sipped it.

“This wine is incredible…I’ve never had anything like it. Interesting.” She sipped again and hummed in content, eyes slipping closed in bliss. Zen similarly began to drink and was impressed by the taste, grinning at the bottle.

“Whoo, this has got some _kick!_ ”

Across the room, they heard Jumin scoff mockingly. “Please, I bet you’re the type to really _feel it_ after a few hard lemonades. You wouldn’t know a strong drink if it poured you a cup itself.”

Zen felt his temple pulse, and clenched his fist in an attempt to control his irritation.

“Oh yeah, Mister hot shot? Think you could handle a drink better than me?”

Jumin waved a hand dismissively, before snipping out, “Please, I know I could. You’re what, seventeen? I just turned twenty, I’m sure I’ve had a great deal more experience drinking than you.”

Unable to stop himself, Zen raised an eyebrow in defiance. “Prove it then.”

Jumin stood up and swiftly strode to the kitchen, fixing himself some whiskey. He locked eyes with Zen and drank, body language screaming a challenge that Zen knew he wouldn’t be able to refuse. They both poured some more drinks, and glared at each other while Yoosung cheered for the contest.

By the time Luciel returned, everyone had only made it through a few drinks each, but the effects of the alcohol was seemingly instantaneous. There was whiskey sloshed on the countertop from clumsy spills, and Jaehee was dazedly smiling into her full wine glass. Luciel opened his own bottle and drank straight from it, stepping fully into the kitchen before he clapped Jumin on the shoulder.

“Alright, now _this_ is what I’m talkin’ about! Let’s get this party GOING!” He proceeded to dance wildly, bottle in hand, the only noise being Yoosung’s seal laughs and frantic clapping. Alcohol coursing through their veins, Luciel set his bottle down on the counter while he caught his breath. Yoosung squinted at the label, and his nose scrunched in confusion as he processed the meaning of the letters.

“Luciel, why’re you having sparkling juice?” Luciel shook his head at him, lips pressed into a thin line.

“My dear Yoosung, I don’t need alcohol to party hard. But you all do, so let loose, let’s enjoy the day!”

Everyone could drink to that, and within the hour they had consumed too much alcohol, and had little room in their minds for rational thought. Gauging the varying degrees of drunk-ness, Luciel clapped his hands together, declaring drink time over, and marched to the living room as he yelled at the others to hurry up and follow him.

Once everyone had made it to the living room with minor injuries, (Yoosung bumped his hip into a table, and Jaehee bumped into him), Luciel addressed the newest additions to the coven. “So Jaehee, Zen, I don’t think you guys know since you joined us literally 26 hours ago, but Jumin is actually a vessel to summon spirits!”

It took a few moments for the pair to process the information with their foggy minds, but Zen did not hesitate to voice his concerns.

“He can like, become a demon then? What…the fuck? That sounds _scary._ ” His speech had begun to slur together slightly, but Luciel understood him perfectly.

The redhead wore a devilish grin in response. “It’s kind of like that, yeah. So, I had this great idea!” He waited until he had the attention of everyone in the room, and crouched down next to a large circular rug in the center of the room. “Everyone, beho- oh, Jumin, could you step off the rug please? Thanks. Behold!” In one quick motion, Luciel pulled the rug off the ground and haphazardly tossed it behind him, revealing a large pentagram painted on the ground in red.

The others stared at the symbol intensely, Yoosung tilting his head to the side in deep thought.

“Has…has that always been there? How’d I miss that?” Yoosung’s voice was laced with confusion. “Guess I’d never think to check what’s _under_ the rug…” he mumbled to himself, assured by his explanation. He was sure he would have noticed a large pentagram on the floor if there wasn’t a rug, but he was also _sure_ that there had always been a large rug there to cover it, despite having been the one to pick it out the week prior.

Jaehee frowned at the floor, before glancing behind herself to look at the rug crumpled on the ground. “Huh, what a practical use for a rug…” She turned her attention back to the crudely drawn pentagram, and began to wonder what they could possibly be doing.

While everyone was distracted by the large, blood red pentagram, Luciel grabbed five black candles, placed on a side table a few hours prior for easy access, and placed one on each tip of the upside down star.

“Jumin, you’ve had a long day, how bout’ you take a seat in the center of this little drawing? Best seat in the house, I promise!” He easily sweet talked Jumin into sitting down, who was subtly murmuring to himself that _yes, it was a hard day, I could use a break._ After he seated himself on the floor, knees drawn to his chest as he continued to sip on his drink, Luciel gestured to the candles, and looked up at Zen expectantly. “Zen, care to do the honors?”

It took a few tries for him to successfully snap his fingers, but Zen lit the candles nonetheless.

“Okay, now everybody sit inside the symbol, but around Jumin, and join hands with each other.” They followed the instructions blindly, and Yoosung laughed in glee as he realized what was happening.

“Oh, you guys, I haven’t played this game in years! Can I go first?” The enthusiasm he displayed threw Luciel off, and he was pretty sure Yoosung had a very different perception of what was going on, but he continued according to his plan.

“Sorry Yoosung, this one’s mine. Okay, I’m going to say some words now, just make sure you don’t break the circle we’re making with our bodies. As long as we keep holding hands, we should be safe!”

He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and began speaking in a low murmur.

“Your undeniable spell is the Lucifer, your undeniable magic is the Lucifer.”

Zen furrowed his brow and frowned, turning to Jaehee seated beside him to whisper a question. “Wha’s he sayin’?” Jaehee just shrugged, and they continued to let the situation play out.

“When I approach you, with your angelic face, you say that the reason you live is for me, you say,” Luciel’s voice increased with every word he spoke, and by this point he was close to yelling. The flame of the candles flickered out, and a biting wind swirled around the group. Yoosung clutched onto Jaehee and Luciel’s hands for dear life, and even Jumin was beginning to get the creeping suspicion that the situation may not be as innocent as they had assumed.

With a booming voice, Luciel yelled the final line of his chant, “Her whisper is the LUCIFER!”

As the words left his mouth, Jumin dropped his cup on the ground, the spilt whiskey causing the painted sigil to smear. His head lolled to the side, and if anyone had looked at his eyes, they would see them rolled back completely into his head. Luciel’s eyes widened in shock, morphing into a tinge of fear.

“This- that wasn’t a real chant, I- oh fuck, did we just _actually_ summon Satan?” His words were laced with bubbling panic, because while he had meant to play a prank and initiate the newbies into the coven, he hadn’t expected anything to _happen._

The room fell quiet, save for a few strained gasps for breath from Jumin. Too paralyzed with fear to move, they all remained seated, and watched as Jumin’s breathing slowed and he became still again. He turned to look towards Luciel, eyes still rolled back, and Zen let out a squeak he would deny to his grave. They were all unable to tear their eyes away from Jumin’s body, and none of them registered the faint smell of smoke in the air.

“Wh...where am I?” Jumin finally spoke, and they all let out a sigh of slight relief – most of them had been expecting a garbled, demonic voice.

Yoosung had been watching the events unfold with unshed tears, and he was quick to plead for mercy. “Oh Lucifer, please, Ruler of the Underworld, His Dark Highness, please spa-spare me, I’m too young to die, I’ll do anything, _anything!_ Just don’t kill me, I beg of you.” His mind was buzzing with alcohol and adrenaline, and he wondered fleetingly if this is why his parents always warned him against drinking. Would Satan show up every time he drank, or just because it was his first time?

Jumin turned to face Yoosung, head tilted in confusion.

“Why would I kill you? I don’t even know you, silly! Um, I know my parents said not to talk to strangers, but, have you seen my mommy? I don’t know where she is…could you help me?”

The dialogue was a bit out of place with Jumin’s deep voice, and everyone was suddenly even _more_ confused.

Jaehee looked at the expressions of the others, before she spoke up. “S’it just me, or does that…not sound like Satan? Unless Satan is looking for his ‘mommy’,” the group nodded in agreement, and Luciel took the lead again.

“Excuse me, but could you tell us your name? It’ll help us find your…mommy, easier!” Jumin blinked at him a few times, before settling on a smile.

“My name’s Eveline! I’m 7 years old, and the last thing I remember is walking with my mommy at the park! This doesn’t look like the park, though…”

Luciel’s body sagged in exhaustion and relief, and he wiped some fake sweat off of his brow.

“Wow, we really dodged a bullet with that one, huh guys! It’s just a girl, false alarm!”

It took a bit longer for the inebriated members of the group to realize what had happened, but they all shared similar sentiments.

Yoosung frowned a bit, turning to Luciel with confusion. “Wait, so we weren’t in a circle to play duck duck goose?” Luciel cackled at the thought, and pat Yoosung on the head in apology.

“Not this time, but I promise next time we decide to summon Lucifer, fake or not, we’ll play a round of duck duck goose to warm up.”

Content with the promise, Yoosung smiled once more, but quickly scrunched his nose in disgust.

“What’s that _smell?_ It’s like something’s on fire or somethin’…” They all searched the nearby surroundings, and jumped up in alarm once they discovered that the rug they had tossed to the side was in flames. It began to spread, flames licking at the front living room curtains as it moved its way towards the sofa as well.

Before anyone could react properly, the fire was being put out with streams of water flying through the air directly at the flames. Too drunk or relieved to question how exactly it had happened, everyone cheered at the very damp, but no longer on fire, living room. After a few moments, Luciel whipped his head in Jaehee’s direction.

“Oh my _god,_ Jaehee, did you do move that water with your _mind_? I thought your powers weren’t that strong yet- oh man, the _wine!_ How much stronger do you think your powers are? Come on, we have to test this! Jaehee, lift up the rug and toss it out the window!”

With no reason to deny the request, Jaehee easily used her telekinesis to lift the rug out of the, thankfully open, window. Luciel clapped his hands together loudly, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the display. “Okay, now, I’m gonna get on the roof and jump off of it, go outside and catch me!”

She nodded again, before she stood up and stumbled her way towards the door. The others followed, leaving a once again slumped over Jumin forgotten on the floor. Once outside, Luciel began to scale the front of the building without hesitation. If anyone had been the slightest bit aware, they’d have noticed a set of eyes watching them from the home across the street, but they were too caught up in watching Luciel climb to the roof.

At the top of the roof, Luciel stood on the edge, arms spread out to make a ‘T’. He yelled down, “Okay, I’m gonna step off now! You better catch me, Kang!” Jaehee nodded enthusiastically, while Yoosung and Zen cheered for the pair loudly. Luciel dangled one foot off the roof, then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let himself fall.

Despite knowing Luciel would jump, Zen let out a deep gasp of shock, and Yoosung cried out for him. Luciel kept his eyes squeezed shut for a few seconds, before determining that if he were to hit the ground, it would have happened already, right? He opened them and found himself hovering about 2 feet above the lawn, arms still outstretched. He threw back his head and whooped, before he pumped a fist in the air.

“Holy shit Jaehee, not bad, not bad at all! Thanks for catching me.” Jaehee smiled softly at him, before her attention was caught by the sound of the front door opening, and Luciel plummeted to the ground.

Jumin stepped out of the house, and ran a hand through his hair.

“The hell happened? I woke up on the floor, the room was smoky and wet, and there was a pentagram on the ground…what’d I miss?”

At this exact moment, Rika’s car turned onto their street, and pulled into the driveway. She quickly scrambled out of the car, to stare incredulously at the quintet.

“Oh my god, what happened?! Luciel are you okay – is that smoke, coming from the window?” She took a sniff, and her eyes sharpened even more. “Correct me if I’m wrong, is that _alcohol?_ I even came back early, what would you have gotten up to if I had stayed out later?” Rika stiffened suddenly, before ushering everyone inside.

“The neighbors can see us, do you have _any idea_ what you’ve done?” She hissed, furious at the group. Once everyone was back inside, she spoke again. “What were you all thinking?” Yoosung spoke up, words flowing without thought as he responded.

“We broke into the li-liquid…liquor cabinet. But we won’t get in trouble, Luciel said we’ll just not tell Rika!” Rika’s face fell dark, and Luciel slapped the back of Yoosung’s head, how the hell did he not realize he was _speaking to Rika?_

Luciel then stepped forward, hands raised to try and calm the blonde. “Rika, listen, it’s not as bad as it seems…if it helps, I didn’t drink, I wanted to make sure everyone else was safe!”

Clearly not buying his bullshit, Rika crossed her arms. “Don’t try and weasel your way out of this mess. God, is, is that a pentagram on the floor? Y’know what, don’t explain, I don’t really want to know. You are all going to clean this mess up, and in the morning we are having a serious talk about _responsibility._ Go sober everyone up, and fix this. You’ve got until 8 am to get this place looking exactly how it did before I left.”

She spun on her heel and stormed to her room before slamming her door shut. V looked at Luciel with sympathy. “As long as nobody was seriously hurt…you guys should be able to let loose, do normal teenage and young adult things. Including breaking the rules once in a while. Just…try not to do anything like this for a while, yeah? I’ll help you guys clean up after I do some damage control with Rika. You focus on sobering up the others for now.”

With that, V walked to his and Rika’s shared room, leaving the group in silence. Luciel slowly turned to the others with a sheepish grin.

“Well, that could’ve gone better, but it also could’ve gone way, way worse. But, Yoosung, what the hell man, you can’t just tell Rika we broke the rules so blatantly! Way to throw a bro under the bus, dude.” Yoosung sniffled at Luciel’s annoyed tone, and he pulled out his best puppy dog eyes as he clung onto Luciel’s arm.

“Oh, Luciel, I had no idea! Let me make it up to you, m’sorry, really!” Luciel tapped on his chin as he pretended to mull the idea over, before nodding his head. Yoosung cried out in relief, and flung himself onto Luciel in a full blown hug. Luciel nearly toppled over, but regained his balance and addressed the others.

“Alright guys, time for water and sandwiches! Let’s soak up that alcohol and try to get ourselves through this with minimal punishment!” Luciel led the others to the kitchen, dragging a clingy Yoosung with him.

In the house across the street, a person remained seated near the window, strong gaze piercing into the coven window. They were completely enamored by the person they saw, and knew as soon as they saw them, they would do whatever it took to get them to fall in love, the way they _knew_ they should be.


	2. Who'll Have Mercy on My Soul?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the wait! ive updated the tags but as a warning, this chapter has a few mentions of violence and blood. witches mean serious business and it will likely get very nasty in the future! keep that in mind. enjoy!
> 
> chapter title from O' Death by Amy Van Roekel  
> check out my tumblr for updates and extra content! gayhee.tumblr.com

A loud thud from upstairs and the smell of smoke caught the attention of Luciel and Yoosung from the kitchen, who were working together to prepare dinner for everyone. They exchanged a look before they shrugged it off, and resumed chopping vegetables and attempting to make a vaguely edible meal. Yoosung started to set the table, and let his gaze drift upwards for a few moments. “At least they seem to be making some progress.”

Upstairs, Jaehee stood slightly hunched, brow creased with frustration and a frown on her face. Her forehead was covered in sweat, which caused the tips of her hair to stick to her face. Behind her was Zen, on his back, spread out on the floor. His chest heaved as he regained his breath, and he was visibly exhausted. Seated in a chair at the front of the room was V, with a small, warm smile. He looked between the pair, and decided he would pity the young witches. “Alright, you guys have done well today. Take a break, help Luciel and Yoosung with dinner. We can train more tonight, if you’d like, just let me know.”

Zen groaned in response, fully resigned to spending the rest of his life on the floor, until Jaehee extended a hand to him. He took it gratefully, and she helped him back onto his feet. The pair thanked V before leaving and heading downstairs. While Jaehee rolled up her sleeves and gently took a knife out of Yoosung’s wobbly grip, Zen plopped himself in a chair at the dinner table, laying his head on his arms with a loud sigh.

“That bad, huh?” Luciel teased, but he could sympathize with the younger, having spent weeks, months, years training himself to get his powers where they were.

Zen lifted his head to respond, barely able to shoot Luciel a slightly pathetic look before he whined and his head fell back to his arms. “I spent _hours_ trying to light a candle…just a candle! Ended with me getting pissed, and the flame kind of…went all over the place. Burned the table the candle was on, but the candle still wasn’t lit. Concentrating my flames is so _draining_.” He sighed into his arms again, and Luciel threw back his head to laugh.

“The guy who set the entire living room on fire 3 weeks ago can’t light a candle?” He snorted out a taunt between laughs, only getting muffled grunts in response. The redhead shuffled over next to Jaehee, pulling himself up to sit on the kitchen counter. He gently kicked his legs back and forth, watching mesmerized as the brunette finished chopping vegetables. “How ‘bout you, how’d your training sesh go?”

After a pause and a deep breath, Jaehee resumed cooking, eyes glued to the ingredients. “I dropped a bookshelf. Again. I’m having trouble levitating anything over about 20 pounds for more than 5 minutes.” They both knew well it would take weeks of work for any substantial progress to show, and Luciel nodded to acknowledge her words. “Luciel, are you joining us for training after dinner?”

Since their powers were still quite unpredictable, and most of them couldn’t control them entirely, nobody was allowed to practice without V there to supervise them, often leading to group training sessions to save time. Luciel shook his head no, and hopped off the counter to head upstairs.

“Nah, I’m going solo today. You know I focus better alone. Tell Rika and V I’ll be up all night, and save me some leftovers!” He spoke over his shoulder as he left, and retreated to his room. Luciel was the only one allowed to practice on his own, having spent years learning to control his power before he joined the coven. Only Luciel himself, and V, knew what he did to practice, but he spent hours holed up in his room, and nobody wanted to interrupt to find out. Jaehee sighed to herself and continued cooking, while she made a mental note to inform Rika and V of Luciel’s plans for the night.

Dinner was served, and everyone (sans Luciel) sat around the dinner table. They dug in immediately, too preoccupied with eating to speak at all. Once their appetites had somewhat calmed, they chatted about their days, with a sense of calm and friendship surrounding them. Yoosung pestered Zen into letting the blonde style his hair later, and Rika asked everyone how their training had gone. She had yet to join them during practice since she was busy attending to, well, whatever it was being the Supreme of a coven entailed.

They all had only vague ideas of what Rika did all day – filling out paperwork, working on potions, talking to other witches, maybe stirring a cauldron and cackling in the moonlight. Nobody knew _exactly_ what she did, but she kept the coven running smoothly and that was enough for them. By the time Rika promised she would join in on group training some time that week, everyone had finished their meals and began to go their separate ways.

Before everyone had left, Jaehee remembered what she and Luciel had spoken about earlier.

“Hey, Luciel is taking the night to train, and I think it was his turn for ghost duty – who wants to take his spot?” After a round of sighs and grumbles, Yoosung offered to cover for him, though he seemed reluctant. Nobody really _enjoyed_ staying up in shifts to make sure that if a spirit possessed Jumin while he was asleep, they wouldn’t do much damage, but it was a necessary evil. They hadn’t experienced anything intense yet, but even stories of the harm spirits had caused, to Jumin or others, had spooked them into agreeing without argument.

Yoosung threw himself onto the couch, having decided on a nice nap before his 4 AM watch shift. Jaehee grabbed a slowly retreating Zen by the wrist, dragging him upstairs against his will to train more.

“Just another hour or two, Zen, then we can rest. Besides, you aren’t the one on watch tonight. You’ll get plenty of sleep. Isn’t it always better when we practice together?”

Zen reluctantly sighed, pulling his hair into a high ponytail. “Yeah, I guess it is. We could use the training…alright, let’s do this.”

\--

Yoosung groaned as a shrill alarm woke him up, and he fumbled in the dark for his phone. He blindly pressed at the screen until the noise stopped, and brought the phone up to his face, as he squinted at the numbers: 2:58 AM. He rubbed at his face before he pulled himself up, stretching his arms out before standing. He grabbed a few snacks from the kitchen and climbed the stairs, mind still clouded with the remnants of sleep.

He reached the top of the stairs, and was met with Jaehee’s slumped, seated form leaning against the door of Jumin’s room, book in hand, with her glasses low on the bridge of her nose.

“M’here, you can go Jaehee.”

His mumbled words were barely even _words_ , but Jaehee understood them nonetheless. With a groan, she pulled herself up, and clapped a hand on Yoosung’s shoulder on her way past him. Yoosung took her previous spot on the floor and wondered how Jaehee managed to not fall asleep. He cracked open a can of soda, and hummed at the refreshing taste.

While he was used to watching over Jumin at odd hours, it didn’t mean he _enjoyed_ it. Jumin, when possessed, was a danger to himself and others, and he came into the coven knowing firsthand that ghosts did not care what time it was when they possessed him. In order to prevent a spirit from wrecking the entire coven while they slept, they all took turns staying up near his room to make sure everything was going smoothly. Nobody liked the lack of sleep, but they assumed they were better safe than sorry.

Jumin, though it had been his idea, despised the system. He hated people having to look after him, due to his stubbornly independent nature. They all put up with it for the sake of the coven, though, and Jumin kept his griping to a minimum.

Yoosung pulled his 3DS out of his hoodie pocket and loaded up pokemon, resigned to a 4 hour shift of fighting of sleep with caffeine and games. He could feel his head nodding occasionally, sleep calling to him, but he was sure he could stay awake. His eyelids began to droop, but he shook his head and had another sip of pHd pepper – he could do this.

He could not, in fact, do it. A loud shattering noise startled Yoosung out of his inopportune nap, and he barely missed knocking over his soda can as he stood up less than gracefully. He pushed Jumin’s door open, all traces of sleep leaving in an instant as he watched Jumin carve into his own arms. Blood dripped from the cuts, from the shard of glass in his hands, from the hand gripping into the glass like it was nothing.

Jumin – NOT Jumin – had hardly noticed the intrusion, and continued to drag the glass along Jumin’s forearm, face distorted with an eerie grin. Yoosung sprang into action, and hissed as he cut his hand when he attempted to grab the glass away from Jumin. A deep growl came from Jumin, and Yoosung could already tell this would be one hell of a fight. He swept a kick at Jumin’s legs, satisfied when Jumin stumbled and loosened his grip on the glass.

The spirit inside of Jumin did not take the attack kindly, and howled as it lunged at Yoosung, who very narrowly dodged. Jumin’s body slammed into the wall headfirst, but merely shook it off and turned to shriek at Yoosung again.

“ _GUYS, CODE RED, STRAIGHT UP EMERGENCY! HELP, PLEASE!”_

Already having been woken up by the yelling and various fighting noises, V flung the door open, Rika right behind him. The spirit, likely knowing they were outclassed and outnumbered, attempted to flee, hauling Jumin’s body towards the window. Rika raised a hand, and Jumin froze in midair, was gently lowered to the ground. He struggled in place, snarling as V approached him.

Yoosung watched wide eyed, before Rika ushered him out of the room. The only people who knew what happened to rid Jumin of the spirits were V and Rika. Part of Yoosung was wracked with curiosity, dying to know what happened that they weren’t allowed to see – a larger part of Yoosung knew it was probably better that he didn’t know. He quickly left the room and felt the door shut behind him as he joined the trio huddled outside the door.

At his appearance, Zen gasped audibly, and Jaehee stared intensely. Yoosung looked down, confused, only to realize he was stained with Jumin’s blood.

“Guys, I know it looks bad, but it’s really not. Jumin will only need a few stitches, and he’ll heal, good as new. Rika and V are helping him right now, just leave them to work.”

Neither Zen nor Jaehee seemed comforted by the explanation, so Yoosung shuffled over to Luciel. “I’m gonna go get cleaned up, maybe after we can put on a movie?” he whispered, as his fingers fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “I think Zen and Jaehee are kinda shaken up about the ghost thing, maybe keep the mood light? Answer any questions they have. And hey, make some hot chocolate while I’m gone!”

Yoosung turned to head to the bathroom, but a small ‘wait’ from Luciel kept him in place. Luciel took a step forward lifted his hand to Yoosung’s face, and gently swiped his thumb across the blond’s cheek. He flushed and sputtered a bit, face burning even after Luciel explained, “you had some blood on your cheek,” with a smirk. Yoosung turned sharply and all but ran to the bathroom, head ringing with Luciel’s fading chuckles.

Luciel turned back to the nervous Jaehee and Zen, and slung an arm around Zen, casually wiping his bloody thumb onto Zen’s white t-shirt. Luciel led them to the kitchen, making idle chatter while he did as Yoosung requested and fixed everyone some hot chocolate. Jaehee sipped hers for a moment, before she softly spoke up.

“What exactly…happened, with Jumin?” Luciel waved a hand as to somewhat dismiss the tension that began to fill the room, and made sure to keep his expression neutral. “Jumin was possessed by a more evil spirit, likely some kind of demon. It doesn’t happen often, but not all ghosts are nice. I know as much as you do about the specifics, but the demon probably roughed Jumin up a bit. But he’ll be okay, he’s used to the risks, and nobody was seriously injured! It’s not so bad, you get used to it.”

Jaehee seemed content with that response, though still a bit spooked. The three of them crowded on the couch in the living room, and heatedly argued movie choices before they compromised on Balto. Yoosung returned, hair damp and dripping, and eagerly picked up his mug of hot chocolate before squeezing his way between Luciel and Zen. They were too strung out to rest, despite how early it was, and put on another movie after Balto had ended.

Halfway through the second movie, Jaehee used her power to put everyone’s mugs in the sink, and gently float a large, fluffy blanket over them all. Exhausted from the shock and intensity of the night’s events, one by one they fell asleep, all cozy together on the sofa.

\--

Zen was pulled out of his slumber and back to consciousness with the smell of buttery, syrupy pancakes. He was alone on the couch, mind foggy as he slowly recalled how he had gotten there and why he’d slept in the living room. He ran a hand through his hair as he stood up, and tied his hair back into a low ponytail as he softly padded to the kitchen. Rika stood at the stove, flipping a final batch of pancakes, while V cooked scrambled eggs and bacon next to her. Luciel and Yoosung were seated at the dining table, where Yoosung attempted to read Luciel’s mind while he blocked Yoosung out, and Jaehee flitted around the kitchen to set the table instead of the distracted duo.

Jaehee was the first to notice his presence, as she bustled past him with cups of orange juice for Luciel and Yoosung.

“Morning Zen. Coffee?”

He smiled fondly at her, and nodded as he sat next to Luciel. Rika set down a large platter of pancakes in the center of the table, and V set down the eggs and bacon soon after. They all dug into their meals, content, though Jumin’s lack of presence made the group feel as if there were a hole. Zen surprised himself, words tumbling out of his mouth before he’d even thought them.

“Is Jumin doing okay?”

Jaehee raised an eyebrow at him, and Luciel held his fork up to his open mouth, frozen. He refused to be embarrassed about it, though, he was simply curious about the health of a fellow coven member.

“He’s doing fine, we stitched him up, and he should be back to normal in a few days. He’ll probably sleep all day, though.” V spoke directly to Zen, eyes glinting as if he knew something Zen didn’t. Zen shrugged his shoulders, and everyone resumed eating. V then addressed everyone, and informed them that some witches from the coven 2 doors down wanted to officially welcome them to the neighborhood, and congratulate them for their official coven status.

The doorbell rang as soon as he finished his explanation, and he got the door while Yoosung spoke rapidly about the perfect timing. Everyone stood up to greet the neighbors, and found 3 girls standing in the living room. The girl in the center, with long brown hair and full bangs, smiled warmly at them.

“Hi, we’re from the coven a few houses down! We thought we’d welcome you to the area. This,” she gestured to her left, to a girl with magenta hair down to her waist, “is Sarah. And this,” the girl on the right, with wavy brown hair and shiny blue eyes, “is Echo. And I go by MC.” After introducing themselves to the neighbors, MC offered them a tub of cupcakes, a housewarming gift of sorts. They all chatted for a bit, and hit it off pretty well.

The trio of girls left with bright smiles, and a promise to have them over to their own coven house sometime soon. They seemed nice enough, and Yoosung, Jaehee, and Zen all seemed relieved to have other witches in the area. Luciel narrowed his eyes at the girls’ retreating forms through the window, and crossed his arms. There was something up with one of those girls, he didn’t buy their fake smiles for one goddamn second, but he had a hard time putting his finger on _what_ was wrong, and with _which one._

He kept it to himself, not wanting to start drama when he had no proof of anything, but he trusted his gut instincts. He could get to the bottom of it himself, and he intended to.

Everyone tried the cupcakes, humming in appreciation at the deliciousness. Sarah had said she baked them herself, and they all praised her baking skills. Luciel figured it couldn’t hurt to have one cupcake, and begrudgingly agreed that they were incredibly tasty.

Stomachs full, they each resumed their day, unaware of exactly how much damage one cupcake could lead to.


End file.
